Now that I have made some progress I figured I would start my build thread. The base is a '79 Cb750k that has a mere 8300 miles on it! I picked the bike up in NJ for $240 and figured if it doesn't go the way I want, I could always part it out for more than I have into it. This is also my first motorcycle, I have grown up around bikes all my life and now that I am 16... I know... I would like to have one I can call my own. I am doing all of the work myself with little help mechanically from my dad.
So here goes, I am going to try to keep this as updated as possible, progress is quite slow, working part time and with school starting in 2 weeks, I am hoping to be done by end September.
When I had picked up the bike, it was not running but in pretty good shape, needed a ton of care cosmetically, it sat outside for quite a while, although it was last on the road in 2005
I got it home and decided I should get it running so I know exactly what it is I am working with, I pulled the carbs and there was a little varnish in the bowls, so I did the trick with boiling in lemon juice and they cleaned right up, rebuild with new gaskets and put them back on the bike, a little starter fluid and a new battery got the bike running
In the video with my excitement I forgot to put the airbox back on so it was running a bike rough at higher rpms, I should have taken one with it back on before tear down!
http://s1190.photobucket.com/user/kkane97/media/VID_20130626_071415.mp4.html
I started to tear it down and documented absolutely everything, taking pictures and bagging parts as they came off, I got it torn to the frame in about 2 hours time
After everything was torn down, I began to sand blast it all, just a simple tarp draped on the ground let me collect most of the sand and I was able to reuse it. The frame, tank, and many other small parts where blasted to bare metal
After sand blasting I started work on the rear hoop for the bike, being cheap I did't feel like spending the money on a pipe bender, so I used a series of cuts and welds to "bend" the metal into a hoop, it came out really nice and looks great on the frame, I just attached it using slugs on the inside
After running out of argon, it always seems to happen when you need to weld
, I put it on the bike
After than I began to paint, keep in mind I have never painted before and the whole experience was a lot of reading and trial and error, it is lightyears from perfect, but looks better than it did prior
And this is the tank after wetsanding
Then I started work on the new seat pan, I began by welding 3 new cross members to the frame to attach the pan
Just tacked on here
Then I made templates for the pan, I made it in 2 sections, then welded them together for my ease.
After that all that was left was to bend the sheet metal to the shape and mount it on, for mounting I am using nuts welded to the top side of the pan, it bolts on from the bottom with lock washers and loctite.
I named the bike Imperfection because I know nothing on it will be perfect, but it is my first motorcycle and I am learning as I go along, I will definitely make some changes in my methods for the next project!
on the to do list is new bearings all around, finish cleaning up the motor, paint the frame, get the seat upholstered, new exhaust, new turn signals, head light and tail light then reassembly and troubleshooting any new problems
So here goes, I am going to try to keep this as updated as possible, progress is quite slow, working part time and with school starting in 2 weeks, I am hoping to be done by end September.
When I had picked up the bike, it was not running but in pretty good shape, needed a ton of care cosmetically, it sat outside for quite a while, although it was last on the road in 2005
I got it home and decided I should get it running so I know exactly what it is I am working with, I pulled the carbs and there was a little varnish in the bowls, so I did the trick with boiling in lemon juice and they cleaned right up, rebuild with new gaskets and put them back on the bike, a little starter fluid and a new battery got the bike running
In the video with my excitement I forgot to put the airbox back on so it was running a bike rough at higher rpms, I should have taken one with it back on before tear down!
http://s1190.photobucket.com/user/kkane97/media/VID_20130626_071415.mp4.html
I started to tear it down and documented absolutely everything, taking pictures and bagging parts as they came off, I got it torn to the frame in about 2 hours time
After everything was torn down, I began to sand blast it all, just a simple tarp draped on the ground let me collect most of the sand and I was able to reuse it. The frame, tank, and many other small parts where blasted to bare metal
After sand blasting I started work on the rear hoop for the bike, being cheap I did't feel like spending the money on a pipe bender, so I used a series of cuts and welds to "bend" the metal into a hoop, it came out really nice and looks great on the frame, I just attached it using slugs on the inside
After running out of argon, it always seems to happen when you need to weld
, I put it on the bike
After than I began to paint, keep in mind I have never painted before and the whole experience was a lot of reading and trial and error, it is lightyears from perfect, but looks better than it did prior
And this is the tank after wetsanding
Then I started work on the new seat pan, I began by welding 3 new cross members to the frame to attach the pan
Just tacked on here
Then I made templates for the pan, I made it in 2 sections, then welded them together for my ease.
After that all that was left was to bend the sheet metal to the shape and mount it on, for mounting I am using nuts welded to the top side of the pan, it bolts on from the bottom with lock washers and loctite.
I named the bike Imperfection because I know nothing on it will be perfect, but it is my first motorcycle and I am learning as I go along, I will definitely make some changes in my methods for the next project!
on the to do list is new bearings all around, finish cleaning up the motor, paint the frame, get the seat upholstered, new exhaust, new turn signals, head light and tail light then reassembly and troubleshooting any new problems
